Match 7 - Author: Forrest Freund

Banner: Christian Salabert

The waters around Birth Island begin to turn a
deep crimson red as thousands of bariums float to the surface,
heralding the arrival of the bane of the depths, Dagahra. The
toxic beast emerges from the now polluted water around Birth Island
and waddles towards the interior.

In the sky above, something stirs, as if reacting
to the toxic beast that now befouls the purity of Birth Island.
Dagahra becomes suddenly aware of a golden flashing in the sky,
and it raises its grotesque head to examine the strange occurrence.
As he does, the sky opens up and begins to rain golden dust in
a gentle, hypnotic cloud, causing the corrupter to stop in his
tracks and stare at the lovely sight. Purring slightly, Dagahra
is entranced as the beautiful golden snowflakes gently tumble
down from the heavens. Then, the powder eventually vanishes as
mysteriously as it appeared. Dagahra stares in bewilderment as
the enchanting display comes to an end.

The tranquility of the scene is suddenly shattered
as the earth begins to tremble, as though some great creature were
moving below the ground. Dagahra roars in surprise as the rumbling
turns into shaking, as long, snaking fissures open under his feet.
Then, he hears a moaning sound as the fissures breaks open and a
long, thorny tendril emerges form the earth. Dagahra begins to retreat
towards the safety of the ocean, but when he turns to run; he finds
the vines bind his legs. Roaring out in rage, Dagahra tries to wrestle
free of the bindings. In the midst of his struggle, he hears another
great surge from under the ground. Turning his head, he watches
in mute shock as the ground literally explodes outward and a mammoth
head emerges. Biollante, goddess of the earth, has arrived.

Biollante roars out a challenge to the toxic worm
she has entrapped in her tendrils, demanding that it leave this
pure place and never return. Dagahra roars defiantly, refusing to
leave. Then, opening his mouth, the toxic one fires a crimson and
ebony beam of light at the tendrils binding him. The beam severs
the vines, releasing a hissing spray of burning green fluid into
the air.

Biollante growls in anger and sends another swarm
of tendrils after the corrupted one as he retreats towards the ocean.
Her tendrils emerge from the ground, clamping their jaws onto the
corrupt one's legs. Biollante gives a purr of pleasure as Dagahra
is dragged to the ground and hauled back towards her.

Dagahra, deciding to take the offensive, takes to
the air and yanks free of the choking tendrils the earth goddess
tried to bind him with. Turning, he flies back towards Biollante,
roaring in anger. Then, he opens his mouth and fires his Poisonous Jet Stream Shockwave at his opponent. The bolt of energy rakes her across the top
of her enormous alligator like head, searing the scaly leaves. Biollante
snarls in pain, but otherwise does not seem to be adversely affected
by the attack. Dagahra, confused, fires another beam, as well as
a volley of Bariums from his shoulder cannons. The beam rakes across
Biollante's body, but once again, fails to have any discernable
impact on her. Yet, when the bariums strike, the small patches where
they make contact seem to shrivel a bit.

Biollante, not wanting to take another hit form the
burning particles shot by the toxic one, lashes out at him with
her spiked tendrils. Seeking to take him out of the sky, Biollante
strikes at him with a group of decoy tendrils, seeking to divert
the toxic one into her spear tipped trap.

Dagahra, seeing Biollante's chocking tendrils approaching,
banks hard. The flailing lashes sail past him, but the sense of
victory is short lived as the toxic one feels a burning, stabbing
pain bursts though his right wing. As he turns his head to see what
has happened, he is violently tugged out of the sky as Biollante
viciously pulls her tendril in. Dagahra crashes into the ground
with a sickening thud, blood erupting from his nostrils. As he lifts
his head, he looks over at the spot where he felt the stabbing pain.
With a groan of despair, he realizes that the earth goddess has
torn a hole in his right wing, disabling his ability to fly. Yet,
he doesn't completely lose hope, as he notices that his shoulder
cannon is still intact, which means he can still use his barium's
to attack Biollante. Regaining his footing, Dagahra rises and turns
to face the earth goddess.

Biollante, seeing the toxic one rise, begins to advance
on him. More tendrils emerge from the earth around the toxic one.
The toxic one responds to the attack by firing his energy beam at
the vines, severing them. Yet, Biollante refuses to let him escape,
and continues to send more vines after the toxic one.

Dagahra, surrounded on all sides by the vines, and
seeing Biollante advancing, decides to try and play his trump card.
Crouching low on the ground, he beings to spin in place. As he does,
a maelstrom begins to form around his twirling form. Soon the cyclone
fully engulfs him, and he opens his shoulder cannons, releasing
a stream of bariums into the tempest. Lifting off the ground, he
charges towards Biollante.

Biollante, seeing the toxic one forming a corrupted
cyclone of poison and acid, opens her maw. As Dagahra closes it,
energy arcs towards the center of her mouth. Then, when the tempest
is almost within striking range, she vomits forth a stream of her
own acidic blood. Directing the stream into the cyclone, Biollante
drenches the toxic one and his foul spawn in her purifying sap.
Dagahra falls from his cyclone, corroding bariums falling all around
him. Biollante begins to advance on her prone foe. When she comes
within reach, she lowers her jaw and bites down on the toxic ones
head, driving the hundreds of sword-like teeth that line her maw
into the body of the foul one.

Suddenly awake, Dagahra realizes where he is, and
how close he is to losing the fight. Realizing that he may only
have one more shot at defeating the earth goddess, Dagahra opens
his shoulder cannons and fires a volley of bariums at the earth
goddess. His toxic pets strike his foe, who gives off a satisfying
cry of pain as her grip lessens. Digging his heels into the ground,
Dagahra pulls as hard as he can, tearing himself free of the earth
goddess's maw. Yet, the cost is high, as he loses a good deal of
flesh on the bladed jaws of Biollante. Screaming out in pain, Dagahra
turns and begins to retreat towards the ocean once again.

Biollante watches as the toxic
one begins to retreat. Refusing to allow the vile beast to escape,
Biollante sends several dozen mouthed tendrils through the ground,
which emerge from bellow the toxic one, clamping onto him and pinning
him to the soil. As the toxic one roars out in pain, Biollante decides
to land the finishing blow. Underground, her spiked tendrils meet
up and braid themselves into a single, massive spike. Summoning
all of her strength, Biollante drives the spike upward, impaling
the toxic one on its tip, and lifting him into the air, while still
pulling down with the tendrils she grabbed him with. Dagahra screams
in pain as he is skewered on Biollante's tendril, his foul blood
falling to the ground in a grisly shower. Dagahra stops moving,
and Biollante releases her grip. Then, snapping her tendril, flings
the corpse into the ocean. As the water engulfs the body of its
tormentor, Biollante looks on with detached pleasure. As the last
traces of Dagahra sink beneath the waves, Biollante dissolves into
her golden pollen form, and floats up into the sky.